


Grow As We Go

by liquidnitrogen



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, M/M, Slow Burn, and this will probably make me a bit sad to write, anyway they r in love but it's about the yearning, but i promise i will make them happy, fuck pierce all my homies hate pierce, i tagged pierce but he's probably not gonna be in it much, idk how 2 tag stuff, trouble understanding their emotions but they'll get there!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25172659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liquidnitrogen/pseuds/liquidnitrogen
Summary: Childhood friends AU in which, after seeing Abed being bullied by his friends, Troy seeks him out and they shortly become inseparable. A few years pass and due to Troy's parents getting a divorce he has to move away, leaving both Abed and himself heartbroken.When Troy eventually moves back he ends up at Abed's high school and old feelings start to resurface.
Relationships: Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 23
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ahh this is my first official fanfic and i gotta say i'm pretty nervous to post it! i wanna just say thank you to the friends who've continued to support me during the writing process (looking at u dpngc) i appreciate y'all a whole lot <33
> 
> anywho, i hope you guys enjoy this while i try to get myself to start the next chapter! 
> 
> (title = Grow As We Go by Ben Platt, stream it it's got big trobed vibes,,)

All of Abed’s life he’d been told he’s different, looked at as if he was different, hell, even treated like it. This of course means that school was never really his forte, so to speak. It’s safe to say the general consensus for most people is that a giant swarm of frustrated teens will never be very inviting to someone who they deem unfit for their standards. Abed never quite seemed to understand why children were like this — attacking others for things they can’t change about themselves — especially considering they never do anything to provoke them. But from his mere twelve years worth of life experience he’d been able to gather that, whether they liked it or not, kids like him were doomed to endure the harsh words, shoving and being stuffed into lockers, whether it makes sense or not. It’s not like Abed chooses to fight back either, no matter how tempting it is sometimes. Things like these tear on you after a while. Abed, if anyone, would know that. It creates a sort of pit in your stomach that fills up with lava so hot, threatening to erupt like a volcano with each and every insult. But he keeps his cool and presses a heavy lid onto these feelings as hard as he can because what would he be other than a bully, just like those kids, if he were to take it out on them or, even worse, someone undeserving.

Abed considers these things as he is being dragged through the school corridor, thankful that he has at least learned to tune out the hateful words being spat at him. He’s heard it all at this point anyway, so he doesn’t exactly see any use in listening for new insults to put on the list. Occasionally he tries to shake himself free but it’s really no use. The hands remain in a strong grip around his arms, probably enough to leave a bruise, and he makes a mental note to wear a long sleeved shirt the next day. He can already tell that the boys, whose names he frankly can’t find the energy to remember, are aiming for one of their lockers, probably with the intention of leaving him there until whatever time they think is appropriate.

However through some sort of miracle from a higher power he admits he doesn’t pray to as often as his dad might want him to the fog in his brain seems to clear up at the sound of the school bell ringing in his ears. He’s always considered this sound to be indescribably loud and annoying but right now it sounds like what would play when you enter heaven’s gates. He’s literally saved by the bell and he just wishes he had someone there who wouldn’t roll their eyes at him making such a reference. The boys huff out something in irritation and release him very hastily, causing him to stumble over his feet and fall down against the cold stone floor.

He takes a few seconds trying to catch his breath which managed to falter a bit as his back slammed into the surface below him. His breathing eventually evens out a bit but he stays on the ground still, examining his striped hoodie for any potential damage. At this point the boys are all long gone, having presumably rushed off as soon as they could in order to get to class in time while simultaneously clearing the evidence of them ever being near Abed, should he have the idea to tell someone about this. Though he never does, not in the near future anyway.

Brushing himself off and going to stand up, out of the corner of his eye Abed spots another student jogging down the, now, empty corridor at full speed, “shit, shit shit,” he curses under his breath. He recognizes this boy as Troy Barnes. He’s seen him around the school a few times and to be honest it would be quite difficult to not know who he is given his position on the football team. From his limited knowledge of this student he knows that he is pretty friendly with those boys who pushed him earlier, though he doesn't seem to be very hostile himself. He seems rather sweet actually. He and Abed have never had any major interactions other than that one time when they accidentally bumped into one another in the lunch line and Troy gave him a very sincere sounding “sorry! My bad, dude!” Other than that they’re basically just strangers, which makes it all the more confusing to Abed when he offers him a slight smile as he runs past him and into his classroom. He’s never been the best at identifying his emotions so he sorts whatever it is he feels as Troy looks at him with those eyes — which Abed notes are quite soft and gentle — and curls his lips tentatively upwards as something close to nervousness or anxiety, which he’s been told feels about the same way as this does, although he doesn’t understand what the cause of such feelings could be.

Abed chooses to not dwell on this any longer than he should. Knowing his own brain he’s well aware that once you step inside it you may as well have thrown away the key because it sure isn’t easy finding your way out again without some type of rescue team that is more often than not slacking on the job and not picking up any calls. This means he’s usually forced to break free by himself, which can just lead to even more confusion than when he locked himself in in the first place. He concludes there isn’t any real reason to go back to class now, he's probably missed a good bit of it anyway. Instead he simply starts making his way home, deciding that one missed lesson most likely isn’t the end of the world.

–

The next day, for the most part, goes as any other, at least if you go by what Abed has over time categorized as a “normal day”. While he isn’t subjected to any harsh pushes or the like, he still has to live with the regular verbal abuse here and there. Nothing far too severe though; One might even say it’s been a relatively good day. Abed did in fact remember to pull on a plaid button up over his Space Invaders printed t-shirt as well, successfully concealing any previous traces of hurt from the world around him.

On his way to his last class of the day Abed spots the group of boys he encountered yesterday and he feels a slight itch in his throat. He needs to get away and he needs to do it fast. But where is he supposed to turn? There is nothing but a long corridor stretching its way ahead of him. He could just turn around and walk away, but wouldn’t that just radiate fear? They’d know he’s trying to get away from them which would do nothing except make them enjoy it even more.

It’s not until he notices a few figures severely breaching his personal space that he realizes that he’s been too caught up in his inner turmoil to keep walking and has instead been standing completely still in the middle of the floor, silently panicking. He’s not quite ready to come back to the real world yet but he feels himself being forcibly yanked out of his thoughts as he hears the boys calling their usual words of hurt at him. Abed looks up and to his surprise he sees Troy standing off by the side, looking quite unsure of himself. It’s almost as if he doesn’t really want to partake in whatever his peers are up to but at the same time he doesn’t look like he has the courage to step up and put an end to it. Then their eyes meet and Abed swears he could see something among the lines of worry, or maybe pity? Those two have always been pretty difficult to separate, he’ll admit that. Dear god, he really hopes it’s not the latter.

–

Later, when all of his classes are finished, Abed is sitting on one of the sofas in the empty study room. Most people have finished for the day and already gone home at this point, not bothering to stay in this hellhole for longer than absolutely necessary. While Abed agrees that this definitely isn’t his favorite place in the world, he can say that he appreciates the calm and quiet atmosphere as he reads the latest _Spiderman_ comic book. All of a sudden he feels the sofa dip down a bit next to him so he looks up and sees Troy sitting next to him, giving him that same sort of shy smile as yesterday. Abed sits there silently, not exactly one to make small talk, and just waits for Troy to offer an explanation as to why the other sofas weren’t as appealing as this one.

“Hey,” Troy speaks eventually, voice sounding so very soft and soothing, and Abed can feel his guard slowly lowering. “I’m sorry about those other guys,” he offered, “I’ve told them to stop, you know.” Troy looks down at his hands, which are almost halfway tucked into his sleeves, providing him with some pretty adorable sweater paws. Abed just gives him a quiet nod, letting him continue if that’s what he had planned to do. And so he does. “For the record, I don’t think you’re weird. Or any of that. That’s not cool of them to say…” The way that Troy spoke in such a sincere tone almost has Abed believing him. “I don’t know… Maybe you’re mad at me, which I understand, but I just came here to let you know that- Well,” He sort of stutters out, “I think you seem like a cool guy and that… Well, if you ever want to, like, hang out or chill or something sometime that’d be cool too”

Abed considers this for a few seconds before giving Troy a small hint of a smile. “Cool. Cool, cool, cool” he says and Troy breaks into a full grin, albeit trying to conceal his excitement as well as he can. Before standing up to leave, he reaches out his hand to Abed, clearly asking him to accept his invitation for a high five. And so he does.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Troy and abed's friendship developes over time and everything seems to be going well until an incident occurs after their first joined class.  
> (TW: some homophobia at the end, as i've said: fuck pierce all my homies hate pierce)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wheww hello gays it's been a bit hasn't it? i'mm happy to announce i am back from my endless procrastination and that hopefully i'll feel some more motivation to keep going after posting this chapter! thank u felipe nation for hyping me up for this and giving me the energy to keep going sdhjsh i love u guys!
> 
> anyway, i hope u all enjoy!!

_Before standing up to leave, he reaches out his hand to Abed, clearly asking him to accept his invitation for a high five. And so he does._

–

Two weeks ago today, Troy Barnes, much to Abed’s surprise, had invited him to “hang out or chill or something,” and to be honest, he’d been slightly weary of the offer at first. He hadn’t wanted to fill himself with false expectations and start creating an entire world of their friendship in his head right away. He’d have to keep it cool and be a little less “Abed”, as his dad would sometimes call it. He also hadn’t wanted to believe that Troy could have had any other intentions with his offer than to simply hang out because, really, he’d seemed so sincere and genuinely excited. But Abed knows himself. People leave him eventually and he doesn’t always see it coming. It’d be better to play it safe, he had decided. 

Since then, things really have been good though, well, better at least. Abed suspects that Troy may have had a few words with those friends of his because mysteriously they’ve all stopped touching him, shouting insults and even so much as looking at him. Even if neither him nor Troy has brought it up, it still fills Abed’s chest with the same type of warm sensation that he felt the first time that Troy gave him that wonderful smile of his. He’s never had anyone that isn’t his mom or a teacher stand up for him before, so he notes to himself that he needs to do all that he can to not scare this boy away eventually.   


The two of them don’t have any classes together as of right now, Abed definitely would have remembered if they did, though he chooses not to think about whether or not Troy would have remembered him. One day though, as he’s sitting in the cafeteria, about to dig into his lunch, he sees his friend making his way over to his otherwise empty table and frankly he would be lying if he said that his heart didn’t start beating a little faster at that moment. “Hey, Troy!” Abed says with a face very much resembling that capital D smiley face, and Troy returns it as he responds, “Abed!”

He sits down across from Abed, still wearing that stupid grin on his face and Abed can’t help but to break into a smile as well. He often finds that whatever Troy does it’s hard not to follow him. To tell the truth he’s surprised at how natural their friendship has felt so far. He never thought that someone like Troy Barnes, star quarterback of the football team, would be such a nerd. It’s okay, he can say that; he’s a pretty big nerd himself. Though as they’re sitting together, discussing the _Kickpuncher_ franchise, Abed can see that it kinda makes sense after all. They’re an unlikely pair, sure, but think about how many times that’s worked out in movies. 

“So…” Troy says after the conversation has started to die down a bit, “new classes starting soon, huh?” Abed hums and gives him a nod as he takes the last sip of his drink and swallows. “Any idea which ones you’ll have?” Troy’s face begins to light up, “maybe we’ll have some together.” Abed tilts his head to the side in the way he does when he’s intrigued. Or confused. Troy is still working on learning to recognize his friend’s facial expressions. Given the context, though, he assumes it’s the former. “Okay,” Abed says, now clearly engaged, “I’m going to list mine and you’ll tell me if you have any of them.” Troy looks back at him with equal intensity and nods quickly. 

“History with Mr Cornwallis.” Troy shakes his head. “PE with Coach Bogner.” He shakes his head again. Abed furrows his eyebrows. Two classes left. “Economics with Mr Hawthorne.” He says and Troy bounces a bit excitedly, “yeah! I’m in that one!” They both reach across the table to do their special, secret, maybe-not-so-secret handshake that they’d been workshopping. “Oh right,” they sit back in their respective chairs, “I also have spanish with Señor Chang. Are you in that one?” Abed asks Troy who seems to search his mind for a second like he usually does with a following “this is wrinkling my brain!” After a moment his face brightens up again in realization, “I think so! Dude, this will be awesome!” He says and his elation spills over into Abed who matches his friend’s grin. “Damn… Maybe we did our handshake a bit too soon” Troy muses, a bit deflated. Ever on a mission to keep him as happy as possible, Abed offers him a solution, “they’re reserved for when something awesome happens, right?” Troy nods and Abed continues, “well… when something is twice as awesome — _double awesome_ — we have no choice but to do it again, do we?” Troy looks up at him again, a goofy smile on his face, and they once again execute the handshake, one hand tapping the other’s and the remaining hand tapping their chest, dangerously close to the heart. 

–  
It’s the first day back after a much needed christmas break, or given that neither Troy nor Abed really celebrate the holiday, a pretty generic winter holiday. For them it had been all but generic though. The two weeks away from school had been filled to the brink with movie marathons inside blanket and/or pillow forts, video games and late night sleepover conversations. Abed had truly enjoyed getting to spend more time together with Troy and he’d been able to learn some essential friendship information about the other boy, such as his favorite color, his family and his fear of rats. It’s great having someone to connect with like this, he thinks. Sure, he’s had friends in the past, but it’s always ended with them “growing apart” which Abed would later find out that it meant they just found him weird or that being his friend alienated them from any other social groups. Troy, on the other hand, always seems to be engaged in whatever conversation or silly reenactments they do and he actually shares his interests, which Abed thinks makes it even easier to talk to him. 

The snow has just begun to melt as Troy and Abed walk together their first class of the day which just happens to be Economics. Neither of them are particularly excited about it but, hey, it’s just one hour and besides, they’ll be there together so it shouldn’t be too boring. Though Abed is a bit too busy to think about any of that with Troy next to him, holding onto his arm, a simple enough gesture of his affection that still makes all his other thoughts seem extremely unimportant. 

Another thing Abed has learned is that Troy, despite not wanting to admit it, is a very naturally emotional and touchy person. He’d realized that after about the second or third time Troy had asked if he could sit closer to Abed, practically cuddling up next to him as they made their way through another selection of movies. He realizes it’s very out of character for him but he’d said yes every time, not really knowing how to deny both Troy and himself of that. Not being the most physical person in the world, Abed may have been annoyed at his clinginess if he didn’t find it so endearing. He’s like one of those of staple male characters who’s constantly going against their stereotypes, often for the sake of comedy. But there’s nothing about Troy’s character that’s funny to Abed. At least not in that way. Of course, he always finds him funny, but never in a way that’s at the expense of his emotions. Abed simply admires his ability to express himself and he secretly wishes that he could be the same way. Maybe people would actually understand him then. 

Economics had been pretty much what they’d expected it to be: some boring introduction to the class and some even more boring talk about numbers and capitalism and to be honest they hadn’t really been listening that well, choosing instead to focus on some cooperative doodling in Troy’s notebook. The teacher hadn’t exactly seemed to catch on though. He had mostly spent the hour making somewhat offensive remarks and it had been around that time that they both began tuning him out. 

Now, with the class over, most people having walked out already, Troy begins moving to stand up and lends his hand to Abed as he does, allowing him to take it and pull himself up from his seat. Neither of them make any effort to release each other’s hands, despite it not serving any purpose anymore, other than the sense of comfort that washes over the two of them. Abed can’t quite explain what he’s feeling a lot of the time, much less when he’s with Troy, but it’s like an empty part of him has been filled with wordless reassurances that he is okay, _great_ , actually. That he is worthy of love. All he knows for sure is that he wants to cling onto this feeling forever, however unrealistic that may be, he doesn’t really care. 

All that is shattered when they notice a voice speaking up behind them, “Careful boys, people might think you’re gay walking around like that.” Mr Hawthorne quips at the two, followed by that weird wheezy laugh of his. Abed instinctively looks down at their joined hands, as if he never even noticed them in the first place, as if sharing physical contact with Troy has become so much of a second nature to him at this point that he doesn’t even realize it anymore. Troy, on the other hand, looks absolutely horrified, dropping his hand immediately like it had burned him. He gives Mr Hawthorne a small, nervous laugh before mumbling to Abed that they should leave, and so they do, Abed trying to push down the sudden feeling of loss at Troy’s hand no longer resting in his.

–

The rest of the day goes by rather strangely, Abed thinks. It’s obvious that something’s bothering Troy, going by the fact that he doesn’t appear to be as excited doing their, now, perfected handshake or that he isn’t acting like his usual, bubbly self. He suspects it may have been because of that comment Mr Hawthorne had made about them earlier that morning. In all honesty though, Abed hadn’t been very bothered by it. Sure, it’s a wildly inappropriate thing to say someone, let alone your two young and impressionable students, but he’s pretty used to these things by now. Not people commenting on his sexuality, that was a new one, but rather insults in general. He’s learned to block those out, but obviously he can’t say the same for Troy.

As they meet up when all their classes are done, Abed looks at his friend. There’s definitely still something in there lurking, waiting to come out in a potential fit of sobs that he honestly would not know how to deal with, so he resolves to do the best that he can to prevent it. “Troy,” Abed says, and the other boy shifts his gaze up from his locker and over to him, “do you want to come over to my house? We could watch some movies or something, it’s your choice.” He offers and hopes that he’s able to communicate with Troy that he is only trying to provide him with some comfort or even just a distraction. To get his mind off this day. Abed doesn’t fail to pick up on the slight hesitation as he looks around slightly, though he softens after a bit. “Sure,” he replies, now with a hint of something a bit more hopeful in his eyes, “that sounds cool.”

They leave and Troy doesn’t take his hand or his arm the way he usually does when they walk beside one another, but Abed figures he shouldn't push it and just lets himself fall into the pleasant conversation with his best friend as they walk together towards his house. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abed tries to cheer Troy up with a movie :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyy.... how y'all doing... it's been a while lmfao sorry a lot going on ,, but yeah this one is back from the dead again how exciting! hope u enjoy <3

The walk to Abed’s house isn’t that long, just about 15 minutes to be exact, but Abed notes that it does feel strangely longer than usual today. Maybe it’s because of what happened earlier, or maybe it’s because of the pretty engaging conversation about robots with Troy that he quite frankly doesn’t want to end. Though much like all good things, it does come to an end eventually, but there isn’t much room for silence before the next topic comes up. Said topic happens to be the extremely important decision of which movie to watch when they get home. Troy suggests that they watch _Back to the Future_ , and Abed agrees right away.

Abed could definitely say with confidence that he enjoys being the one in control of a situation, feeling like it provides him with sort of a steady ground to stand on, rather than the wobbly uncertainty of decisions made by others. Normally he probably wouldn’t take someone else’s suggestion and go along without hesitation. Despite all this, Troy is different somehow. Handing over the power to him doesn't feel like such a loss to Abed, quite the opposite to be honest. All he wants is for his best friend to be as happy as he can be at all times. Sure, that might be slightly unrealistic, but if there’s ever a chance that he might lift Troy’s mood even a little bit, Abed knows that he would give up absolutely anything just to see that blindingly beautiful smile. Feeling such a need to keep others satisfied has never been a huge priority for him because, well, he’s never truly had someone to fight for like this, but with Troy he thinks— he knows— he would do whatever it takes to keep him around. 

Eventually they make their stop at Abed’s house and he unlocks the door. “Hello?” Abed calls out, checking to see if anyone’s home, but all he gets is the quiet echo of his words bouncing back at him. He doesn’t really expect anyone else to be in the house this early anyway, with his mother in Arizona and his father at work until later in the evenings. He never complains though, especially not when he brings Troy over, it’s always preferable not having someone breathing down your neck then. 

As his friend works on shuffling his jacket off his shoulders, Abed looks over and asks him if he wants anything to eat, cereal, buttered noodles perhaps? “Always!” Troy replies with a grin, and they move swiftly over to the kitchen. Troy hops up and settles himself on the counter and watches in awe while Abed prepares both of their meals. There’s something about being not just at his house, but simply with him that makes Troy feel safe in a way that he’s never felt before. The familiarity of it all is enough to wash away any guilt or insecurity he might have been feeling earlier. The world can be a nightmare sometimes, but with Abed near him it's almost as if time stops around them and suddenly they're in another universe, just them, where no one can hurt them. 

Soon enough the beeping of the microwave and the smell of melted butter snaps Troy out of his thoughts and before he knows it a bowl of noodles is placed in his hands. He scoots down and lands on his feet again, making sure not to spill anything as he does so. They make their way into the living room and before sitting down, Abed leaves the room for a few seconds, returning with a heap of super soft pillows and blankets as he usually does. This time it hits Troy in his feelings though, really burrowing its way in as if it were an arrow shot right in his soul. No matter the fact that this is basically a tradition at this point, it’s the way that his friend so badly wants to help him in the surely most ”Abed _”_ way possible that makes him almost well up right then and there. Troy tries to keep his cool as best as he can though, not really wanting to overwhelm him with his confusing emotions right now. 

He looks over at Abed, who’s now situated on the couch, waiting for him to come sit down next to him, and he doesn’t hesitate to do just that. ”Ready to go back to the future?” Abed asks, quirking his eyebrows and Troy gives him one of those heartwarming smiles. ”Hell yeah!” He replies enthusiastically and Abed clicks the remote. The movie starts playing and the two lean back on the couch, bringing the bowls with them to their laps. It’s not until about halfway through the movie, with the noodles long gone, that Troy realizes how tired he is. It’s understandable really, given how long and emotionally draining this day has been. He switches his gaze from the TV screen over to Abed, noticing how carefully he’s watching the movie in front of him, almost as if studying it, and something warm starts to grow inside him. Troy tentatively leans his head against his friend and closes his eyes, and he can practically feel the tension run out of Abed’s shoulder as he relaxes into the contact. He notices a blanket being pulled over his body and smiles gently. It doesn’t take long until Troy is asleep, Abed following his lead shortly thereafter. 

–

Troy wakes up after some time, could have been 30 minutes, could have 2 hours, he doesn’t know and quite frankly doesn’t care. Abed is still next to him, looking at something on his phone; he must have woken up a while ago. Troy attempts to rub the sleepiness from his eyes and fails to suppress a yawn, making Abed turn his head towards him. ”Good morning,” he teases and Troy lets out a small laugh, still feeling pretty groggy from the nap. ”And to you,” he quips back and Abed breaks into a fond smile, making Troy’s insides turn completely upside down. He settles back into the comfortable crook between Abed’s head and his shoulder, this time simply revelling in the overwhelming sense of _home_ that it’s providing him with. 

”Hey, Abed?” Troy says softly, ”Yeah, Troy?” He looks up at his best friend, a little awkwardly since Abed can’t really turn his head to look at him the same, ”I just… I just wanted to thank you for today, for everything really. You always cheer me up like this and you might think that I don’t notice or that it’s not enough or whatever,” he pauses to take a breath, ”but it means a lot to me. You always manage to take my mind off of the bad things, so… Thank you.” Abed lets his eyes fall down to his hands, looking a bit dumbfounded. ”You don’t have to say anything,” Troy reassures, ”I just wanted to tell you that.” At this Abed shifts away slightly as to properly meet his gaze, ”I’m glad, Troy,” he says, reaching his hand out to Troy’s to calm the nervous picking at his shirt sleeve, ”you help me too.” 

Troy isn’t sure why, but all of a sudden it’s all too much. His emotions, Abed, the sentimentality of it all, and he starts crying. Abed doesn’t ask why, not yet. He needs to let Troy get a grip of it himself before bombarding him with questions, something he wishes others would understand when they try to comfort him. Troy just presses his face against Abed’s shoulder again, feeling instantly safer when he feels a pair of arms wrap carefully around his back. He sniffles and hugs Abed tighter, not really caring about maintaining his composure, he’s well beyond that anyway. Eventually, as his breathing starts to slow down a bit, he releases his grip on his friend, moving back so that they’re sitting across from one another.

”I’m sorry,” Troy mumbles, wiping his nose with his sleeve. Abed eyebrows furrow in confusion, ”for what?” He asks genuinely and Troy looks almost mortified. ”For… well, crying. I don't know where that came from,” he replies, only half lying. Abed looks more concerned than confused now, ”it’s okay to have feelings, Troy,” he offers, ”if you want to talk about them I’ll listen.” He’s just finished crying but Troy swears that might have set the tears off again. What has he ever done to deserve someone like Abed? ”Thanks, dude,” he looks at his best friend again, ”I’m okay, I just think… Today’s been a lot.” Abed just hums in understanding, giving Troy’s hand a squeeze. They sit in comfortable silence for a while before Abed speaks up again, ”do you want to watch something else? Something light, like _Friends_?” He proposes, and Troy smiles, nodding.

”Cool. Cool, cool, cool.”


End file.
